Attorney Jeffrey Kessler believes that the power conference schools “should be thought of and treated differently"Winston & Strawn
Jeffrey Kessler is "portrayed often as a villain across the sport’s landscape," as the lead attorney in what is "shaping up to be the most revolutionary case in NCAA history -- an antitrust lawsuit that seeks billions of dollars in retroactive monetary damages to former athletes" for NIL pay, according to Ross Dellenger of YAHOO SPORTS. The case has the "potential to, for one, cost the power conferences and NCAA enough money that many fear bankruptcy and, secondly, topple all NCAA compensation rules related to NIL.” A settlement of the case could “produce a future athlete compensation model that will shape the industry for years to come,” possibly bringing "structure and solutions to the landscape likely in the form of athlete revenue sharing." But Kessler also has "espoused plenty of the same views that those within college athletics hold." He believes that the industry "finds itself in this predicament because of surging salaries for coaches and administrators.” Like so many fans and stakeholders, he supports “leaving the NCAA basketball tournament untouched.” He even "showed public support" for NCAA President Charlie Baker’s Project DI proposal to compensate athletes, saying Baker "gets it.” Kessler believes that the power conference schools “should be thought of and treated differently." Several athletic administrators said that they are “preparing to share revenue with athletes as part of a potential settlement” -- an outcome "much preferred over the lingering possibility of athlete employment." A settlement agreement could come with an annual per-school revenue sharing figure of $15-20M (
YAHOO SPORTS, 4/19).
